Percy Howard Shue, College President

January 16, 1999|By Joan Giangrasse Kates, Tribune Staff Writer.

As a young man attending Berea College in Berea, Ky., Percy Howard Shue paid for his tuition and board by baking bread for the school's cafeteria and doing odd jobs between classes in the library. At night, he would retire to a small, sparse room above the library that included a bed and a small Bunsen burner.

But the arrangement suited Mr. Shue, who enjoyed his pick of books, mostly classics, which he would read long into the night while munching on cinnamon buns he had made that morning.

"He came from a poor farming family, but that didn't stop him from going to college or earning a degree in literature," said his daughter, Jackie, who joked that her father had a reputation on campus for being "the fastest baker with the shiniest buns."

After graduating with a master's degree in literature at Tulane University in New Orleans and attending doctorate courses at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Mr. Shue went on to teach English literature at Babson College in Florida, his area of expertise being Shakespeare and Victorian poetry.

He later became president of Utopia College in Eureka, Kan., and then the director of social services program development for Kiwanis International.

A resident of Glen Ellyn since 1959, Mr. Shue died Thursday in Meadowbrook Manor Health Care in Naperville. He was 80.

Born in Staunton, Va., Mr. Shue had a love for books that started at an early age.

"He used to check out books from the town library that his dad would sometimes borrow to read," his daughter said. "That frustrated him to no end, because when he wanted to read the books, he couldn't find them. That's when he started choosing books especially for his dad, so he wouldn't keep taking his."

While with Kiwanis International, Mr. Shue was the author of many speeches, some of which he delivered himself.

"He was a gifted writer and speaker," his daughter said. "He was known as `the voice of Kiwanis' by those who admired his eloquence with words. He was better than anyone else in conveying the importance of helping your fellow man."

Following his retirement, Mr. Shue devoted his energies to building and stocking a library in the Philippines that he had learned about during his tenure with the Kiwanis.

"He sent funds and books to the Philippines for four years until the library was established in 1997," said his daughter.

But according to those closest to him, Mr. Shue was most proud of his award-winning yard that exploded with exotic flowers each spring.

"It was a most beautiful garden," said Mr. Shue's neighbor, Gini Degnen, who would watch him from her window. "He would go out at dawn to catch the dew on his flowers."